


Flufftober Day 12: Clenched Fists

by GuyOfShy



Series: Locked Tomb fics [18]
Category: The Locked Tomb Trilogy | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Dinner, F/F, Fluff, Flufftober, Flufftober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:29:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26975179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuyOfShy/pseuds/GuyOfShy
Summary: Prompt: Clenched Fists.Harrow takes Gideon out to dinner. A little mishap occurs.
Relationships: Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus
Series: Locked Tomb fics [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937449
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28
Collections: Flufftober2020





	Flufftober Day 12: Clenched Fists

Harrow leaned back in her seat, arms folded and marvelling at Gideon finishing off her plate.

“I cannot believe that you ate that.”

“What can I say, it’s good!” Gideon licked a stray streak of sauce from her lower lip, before forking up another piece of bourbon-barbecue-glazed salmon. “I hate to finish such a delectable dish, really,” she said, offering a final peace to the slice of salmon. Harrow oozed jealousy over her girlfriend’s impossibly broad palette of tastes and did not care to hide it.

“Isn’t it spicy?”

“A little bit, yeah,” Gideon coughed, very aware of her brimming tears betraying her.

“I could never,” said Harrow while picking at a few more leaves of lettuce.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better I could never eat that heap of cardboard you call a salad.”

The lack of dressing that Harrow requested appalled Gideon, and the waiter similarly seemed unsure until Harrow insisted.

“Most dressings have a sour sort of taste or one that is entirely too savory and I cannot stand either.” Harrow did fish out the vegetables happily, and crunched a crouton every few minutes, struggling to enjoy the seasoning. With a fascinated curiosity did Gideon watch Harrow mull over the components of such a dull snack. Harrow noticed her scrutiny with a prude little frown. “It’s a tad too… strong?”

“Harrow, that’s black pepper.”

“I’m well aware,” pouted Harrow, to Gideon’s amusement.

“Hey, I’m messing with you babe,” laughed Gideon, taking her hand across the table. “How’s the grilled chicken?”

“There’s a lemony taste to it, which is nice if a bit too tart. For me, at least.”

“Mind if I try a piece?”

“For you to poke fun at me? Be my guest. You know I cannot finish full-size meals anyhow.”

Gideon stabbed at a chunk of chicken and chomped down on it, savoring the juicy texture. She braced her tongue for a blast of lemon, but the taste was faint; in the background, behind the seasoning on the skin.

“That’s pretty tasty. Could use more lemon though.”

“More?” inquired Harrow unbelievingly.

“Yeah! Like, I would eat that as is, but I would _devour_ it if it had a little more kick to it.”

“Well, you look and sound like you’ve had quite enough kick already,” grinned Harrow, equally amused by the heat still lingering in Gideon’s cheeks.

Gideon leaned in to whisper: “I didn’t think it would be that spicy.”

Harrow whispered back: “But you ate it anyway.”

“‘Course! I’m not gonna waste the money. And it wasn’t bad or anything, just hot.”

“Griddle, I told you, I have that gift card we used last time. Don’t worry about the money.”

“Well, it’s still, y’know - money.”

As if summoned by the mention of money, their waiter - Ortus - appeared around the booth.

“How are we, ladies?”

Harrow stiffened, and briskly said, “Quite fine, thank you,” and took a sip from her glass of water while casting an equally stiff look Gideon’s way.

“Yep! But uh, I think that we’re just about done here, actually.” Gideon looked at Harrow to confirm, and she nodded.

“Very well,” Ortus said with a nod and a smile. “I’ve your total right here, actually,” he said, fishing the small folder from his breast pocket and sliding it onto the table. Harrow fished out her gift card and debit card and slipped them in, tucked it back together, and Ortus took it back. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said cheerily.

Gideon took the moment they had to themselves to ask, “When did we first use that gift card? It was for my birthday, right?”

“It was. We only used about half of it, so this should be mostly or hopefully, entirely, covered.”

A few final sips of their drinks later did Ortus return with their receipt. Harrow looked it over to compare their meal’s cost with what the card covered.

Gideon half-watched, more focused on finishing the scraps on her plate. Harrow, meanwhile, squinted. Frowned and raised her head back, then in to study it closely. She stared at the receipt with the face of one containing their confusion as they study something utterly bewildering, the kind of face that impatient and nervous people like Harrow were terrible at making. Gideon gradually felt as if she should quit stuffing her face. Harrow glanced up at her, then back down and exhaled silently.

"What's wrong?" asked Gideon warily.

"Well? The gift card worked, right?"

"Somewhat," Harrow gritted out with a cock of her head. "Forty-six."

"So what's the-"

"Cents."

"Oh."

"Forty-six cents." Harrow’s lips pinched into a thin, flat line. She clenched her fists on the table and with great restraint said, “I suppose we must have used it a different time, on some prior occasion that I cannot recall.”

“Seems like it… I sure don’t remember.”

“Well. That is a true and miserable shame. Wow, I feel stupid!” hissed Harrow.

“It’s not the end of the world. We paid good money to fill up on a tasty dinner and spent a lovely evening together,” argued Gideon, curling her fingers under Harrow’s and clasping her hand. “Right?”

“Right,” sighed Harrow. “Yes, you’re right. I just won’t think about it, and everything will be fine.”

“Attagirl. Let’s go home, yeah?”

Harrow shuffled out of the booth and stood, offering her hand to Gideon with a smile. Gideon could see that her smile was totally for show, a defensive measure to repress her ire, but at least she was smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on personal experience. This happened to me irl lol


End file.
